While the Panthers did suffer a number of key injuries, was it really more than other NFL teams?
While the Carolina Panthers managed to salvage the 2024 season during the final stretch to leave most analyst and fans with a positive impression going into the offseason, the rest of season wasn’t exactly filled with sunshine and rainbows.
There were a number of key issues that hindered the Panthers performances, especially early in the season. The most frequently cited reason was the perceived lack of injury luck. While the Panthers did suffer a bevy of injuries, did the organization truly have it worse than other teams in the league?
A fair question, and one that is difficult to answer, but Brett Barnes at Sports Info Solutions put together a methodology to account for the quality of player lost to injury, using the ‘Expected Points Added’ stat. You can read the whole article here, but I’ll spoil it for you and say that the Panthers missed 117 points in the league due to injuries in 2024 – the 7th most in the league.
Small disclaimer that the article does only look at the stats up to Week 16, so the Panthers final two weeks were not accounted for in the stats provided. For reference, after the Panthers Week 16 win versus the Arizona Cardinals, the Panthers lost Chuba Hubbard and Chau Smith-Wade to IR. Also, Jaycee Horn and Josey Jewell missed both final games while Taylor Moton and Robert Hunt each missed a game a piece during that span.
Part of the methodology seems to take into account who replaced the injured player. In this case, it’s obvious why the Panthers ranked so highly. That is, the Panthers did not start out with a surplus of depth considering they finished the previous season with the worst record in the NFL and had to turnover a roster with minimal resources over the offseason. So when injuries popped up for a key player, like say Derrick Brown or Shaq Thompson, the Panthers back-up plan didn’t do much to mitigate the damage.
In many cases, the Panthers were forced to adopt a “throw stuff at the wall and hope something sticks” strategy where they cycled through free agents trying to find some juice on defense – with little to no success. According to Darin Gantt of Panthers.com, the Panthers used a league-high 86 players in at least one game this past season. This included 11 defensive lineman, 13 different outside linebackers and 8 different inside linebackers.
It may not be how many players were injured, but rather who was injured that really spurned the Panthers. At the beginning of the season, the Panthers named four team captains: Bryce Young; then Derrick Brown, who went on IR after Week1; Shaq Thompson, who went on IR after Week 4; and Sam Franklin, who started the season on IR and came back after missing 7 games.
Then there is the Panthers Draft class:
- Xavier Legette – missed 1 game; did not finish multiple games
- Jonathon Brooks – missed 14 games; finished season on IR
- Trevin Wallace – missed final 4 games; finished season on IR
- Ja’Tavion Sanders – missed 1 game
- Chau Smith-Wade – missed final 3 games; finished season on IR
- Jaden Crumedy – missed first 12 games
It’s a shame, really. The Panthers suffered injuries to team leaders and then the draft class who would normally be key depth also sustained injuries forcing them out of the line-up leaving the Panthers with little other alternatives.
It’s fair to day the Panthers had their share of bad luck this season, but in other cases they seemed lucky. Jaycee Horn survived the season without dealing with any major long-term injuries and the offensive line stayed healthy enough to keep Young and Andy Dalton upright for most of the season. Silver linings, I suppose.
If the Panthers hope to compete in the future despite suffering the inevitable injuries that pop up during an NFL season, they need to improve the depth on the roster. When Plan A doesn’t work out, Plan B cannot be desperation. With the 2025 offseason on the horizon, they’ll have the opportunity to do just that.